On November 25th, Puls Biznesu, one of Poland’s top economic mediums, announced the results of the 6th edition of their annual “Force of Attraction” contest for the most effective HR practice. Ten Square Games received the main prize in the category of “Building strategic engagement”. 

The “Force of Attraction” jury consists of HR managers in large Polish and international companies. The project carried out under the auspices of “Puls Biznesu” is meant to distinguish organizations for which employee engagement and development are not just empty words but a fundamental element of HR policy aimed at attracting and retaining the best talents. We reached the top of the podium thanks to applying company values sourced from employees into our business process.

Over the last year, Ten Square Games increased its team size by over 100 employees, opened the first satellite studio in Warsaw and started a complex international recruitment process, all during a pandemic and in the remote work reality. The HR and leadership teams faced work-culture challenges that were not encountered before.

Main Prize: Ten Square Games

– In the face of our transformation, we wanted to see whether our core values changed as well. We wanted them to come from the people because that’s when they become a very efficient litmus test for our organizational culture. – Joanna Kabat-Szwaba, Head of Human Resources at TSG, told us.

Values, such as being ready for change or a drive towards cooperation have been a part of TSG since the beginning. In 2019, the company established 9 key rules; however, despite reflecting the company’s character well, they still functioned more as corporate communication than a natural compass for everyday decisions.

Because of our transformation from a Wrocław-based company into an international enterprise, we decided to engage our employees in breathing new life into our values so that they’d know that these values are here for them. – says Alicja Szymańska, HR Business Partner and core value project coordinator at TSG.

The project, constructed in a “bottom-to-top” method, lasted from October until December 2020. It was made up of 30 interdisciplinary workshops, with 120 employees from various areas and levels in the organization taking place and a series of in-depth interviews. Most of the time was allotted to group work, during which employees referred to the history of TSG and analyzed the company’s success factors. They used projection techniques to create a list of key competencies and attitudes. Deciding which reflected the company’s culture best, TSG employees defined their top 5: Dare to Explore, Own It, Grow Together, Change Fast, and Trust.

– Each value has a unique attitude towards it to make it easier to remember; we also decided to represent our values visually as five cartoon characters – Alicja Szymańska explains.

Additionally, TSG also created a comic showing how these values work in the context of day-to-day company operations and—quite appropriately for a gaming company—a video game. The player takes the role of an employee, unlocking the values level-by-level, helping learn and remember them.

An Employee Satisfaction Survey performed in August shows that not only most TSG employees do know the values, but they also see their impact on their leader’s everyday decision-making and the company’s actions as a whole.

The article was originally published on Puls Biznesu pb.pl portal on 25th of November 2021.